From: owner-skunk-works-digest@netwrx1.com (skunk-works-digest)
To: skunk-works-digest@netwrx1.com
Subject: skunk-works-digest V8 #58
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Precedence: bulk
skunk-works-digest Saturday, May 8 1999 Volume 08 : Number 058
Index of this digest by subject:
***************************************************
Mach 1 Props
Bombing the F-117
Re: Bombing the F-117
Non-Skunky question
Re: Non-Skunky question
RE: Non-Skunky question
Re: SR-71 (968)
Re: SR-71 (968)
FWD: (TLC-Mission) F-111 [short history]
RE: NEW X-34 SPACEPLANE TO BE UNVEILED AT DRYDEN
OT: Need help wth a helicopter question
Re: OT: Need help wth a helicopter question
Re: OT: Need help wth a helicopter question
Re: OT: Need help wth a helicopter question
Borrowed from the AFNEWS
Re: skunk-works-digest V8 #57
Free entry to win $1000.00 at PlanetRockCasino.com !!
RE: skunk-works-digest V8 #57
NEWS: Better chance for crippled aircraft
***************************************************
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 26 Apr 1999 08:50:36 -0700
From: David Lednicer
Subject: Mach 1 Props
A ducted or shrouded prop is a great way to go slow. Test data
has shown time and time again that a shrouded prop has increased static
thrust, but as the vehicle starts moving, the drag of the shroud starts
increasing, eventually overtaking an gains from the ducted installation.
In part, this is why turbofans on airliners have such a great dropoff in
propulsive efficiency vs. turbojets as Mach increases. The only reason
turbofans are prefered is that their higher bypass ratio gives them a
higher overall propulsive efficiency.
- -------------------------------------------------------------------
David Lednicer | "Applied Computational Fluid Dynamics"
Analytical Methods, Inc. | email: dave@amiwest.com
2133 152nd Ave NE | tel: (425) 643-9090
Redmond, WA 98052 USA | fax: (425) 746-1299
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 26 Apr 1999 08:57:42 -0700
From: David Lednicer
Subject: Bombing the F-117
Bombing the F-117 wreckage would have been difficult and very
risky for debatable benefit. Remember - it went down at night in a well
defended area. By the time they could have found it to bomb it, the sun
would have been up, increasing the risk. Not only that, but the pilot was
still in the area until almost dawn and his rescue was higher priority.
As to benefit - it would simply have taken big pieces or RAM and turned
them into smaller pieces. The only way to deny anyone the wreckage would
have been to vaporize it with a nuke. A compotent investigator can
determine a lot from a tiny piece of wreckage. The AAIB figured out the
Pan Am 747 bombing from a fragment of a computer chip from the bomb, found
in a field.
Second guessing is easy when you don't know all the facts!
- -------------------------------------------------------------------
David Lednicer | "Applied Computational Fluid Dynamics"
Analytical Methods, Inc. | email: dave@amiwest.com
2133 152nd Ave NE | tel: (425) 643-9090
Redmond, WA 98052 USA | fax: (425) 746-1299
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 26 Apr 1999 21:51:26 -0700
From: jaz
Subject: Re: Bombing the F-117
David Lednicer wrote:
> Bombing the F-117 wreckage would have been difficult and very
>risky for debatable benefit.
Wouldn't Phosphorus or napalm work, let it burn for a bit, then bomb it.
Charred and shattered. Would probably have little useful left.
Wasn't the plane found in an open field?
James Z.
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 27 Apr 1999 17:45:57 -0700 (PDT)
From: Wei-Jen Su
Subject: Non-Skunky question
Hey guys, I have a non-skunky question for you. Probably people in
here know a lot about it.
I am looking for some commercial flight simulator software in
which you can input the stability and control of the airplane and fly it.
Anyone know any software that can simulate it? Preferable for low speed
airplane.
Yeah... I am testing the stability and control of the SR-71 that I
built at low speed... Just kidding ;)
May the Force be with you
Wei-Jen Su
E-mail: wsu@cco.caltech.edu
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Picard's theorem. In the neighborhood of an isolated essential
singularity "a", an otherwise analytic function "f(z)" can take on any
value whatsoever with perhaps one exception."
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 29 Apr 1999 01:11:40 -0700
From: patrick
Subject: Re: Non-Skunky question
At 05:45 PM 4/27/99 -0700, Wei-Jen cautioned:>
>
> Yeah... I am testing the stability and control of the SR-71 that I
>built at low speed... Just kidding ;)
>
>---------------------------------------------------------------------------
- ---
You gotta master the takeoff's and landings before you can transition to
high speed flight. You aren't fooling us for a minute Wei-Jen!!
patrick
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 29 Apr 1999 10:48:27 -0700
From: Erik Hoel
Subject: RE: Non-Skunky question
Wei-Jen Su writes:
> Hey guys, I have a non-skunky question for you.
> Probably people in here know a lot about it.
> I am looking for some commercial flight simulator software in
> which you can input the stability and control of the airplane
> and fly it.
> Anyone know any software that can simulate it? Preferable for
> low speed airplane.
Try MS Combat Flight Simulator. They (MS) are now distributing a nice SDK
for it as well. There is at least one SR-71 model out there (as well as a
U-2R); goto:
http://www.combatfs.com/warbirds/spy.shtml
BTW - of course MS CFS is a WWII simulator, but people have built numerous
models for newer aircraft. My observation has been that it is fairly
difficult for a WWII era fighter to shoot down an SR-71 that is at speed and
altitude.
Snicker.
Erik
- --
Erik Hoel mailto:ehoel@esri.com
Environmental Systems Research Institute http://www.esri.com
380 New York Street 909-793-2853 (x1-1548) tel
Redlands, CA 92373-8100 909-307-3067 fax
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 29 Apr 1999 19:39:03 -0400 (EDT)
From: Mary Shafer
Subject: Re: SR-71 (968)
This SR-71A had been brought over from the hangar at Plant 42 to be made
flyable, as the idea of counting the Dryden B as their third airplane had
only been a stopgap for the USAF. This plane will go back to Plant 42.
The A we sent back, along with the other A, have been put into flyable
storage, as has the B, and these two As are coming here.
We're flying the LASRE plane without the half-model tenth-scale lifting
body but with the canoe and reflection plane on two flights and then this
plane's going into flyable storage. The reason we're keeping all this
stuff installed is that there have been some inquiries about using the
equipment. The idea is that we'll be able to fly half models on the one A
and put other experiments on one of the unmodified (ex-USAF) As. We won't
have to put the canoe and reflector plane on or take it off if we have an
unmodified plane available.
This is the straight skinny from Fast Eddie; I'm quoting his remarks to an
international group of engineers and researchers who I took over for a
quick look at the last Blackbird during lunch at the PIO Workshop they
were attending.
Mary
Mary Shafer DoD #0362 KotFR shafer@ursa-major.spdcc.com
"Some days it don't come easy/And some days it don't come hard
Some days it don't come at all/And these are the days that never end...."
On Thu, 19 Nov 1998 Xelex@aol.com wrote:
> The "third" USAF Blackbird, SR-71A (61-7968), has been sitting out on the DET
> 2 ramp for the last two days. It is missing its verticals and rear canopy.
> It's kind of dusty, too. I'm not sure what they are planning to do with it.
>
> Also, thanks to everyone who gave me support in the face of my recent faux
> pas. Everyone makes boo-boos from time to time. Some are just more boo-boo-
> esque than others.
>
> Peter Merlin
>
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 29 Apr 1999 20:08:10 -0400 (EDT)
From: Mary Shafer
Subject: Re: SR-71 (968)
I forgot to mention that Fast Eddie made his remarks on 8 April.
Mary Shafer DoD #0362 KotFR shafer@ursa-major.spdcc.com
"Some days it don't come easy/And some days it don't come hard
Some days it don't come at all/And these are the days that never end...."
On Thu, 29 Apr 1999, Mary Shafer wrote:
> This is the straight skinny from Fast Eddie; I'm quoting his remarks to an
> international group of engineers and researchers who I took over for a
> quick look at the last Blackbird during lunch at the PIO Workshop they
> were attending.
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 01 May 1999 23:35:59 -0700
From: "Terry W. Colvin"
Subject: FWD: (TLC-Mission) F-111 [short history]
Recently we had a bit of traffic on the TLC Mission server re the problem
encountered by the F-111 on its initial combat test in SEA. I just received
my monthly bulletin from the 30th Flight, The Order of Daedalians which meets
at March ARB. The bulletin gives a short, interesting summary of last month's
presentation on the F-111 by LTC "Fuzzy" Zeller, a former "Aardvark" pilot. An
excerpt from the bulletin follows:
*****************************************************************************
LTC Fuzzy Zeller flew down from Edwards to give us the history of the F-1ll
(and FB- and EF-). He brought Lockheed Martin test pilot Terry Tomeny along
to see us. Mr. McNamara's mandated "Common Fighter" for the armed forces
started out at 42,000 pounds empty, and got rapidly worse. The Navy wanted none
of it--their short-nose F-lllB rutted the deck! The tail slab is the size of
a Mig-21 wing! The big bird got a bad rap in "Coronet Lancer", its initial test
in Vietnam (Laos). What initially was blamed on the terrain following system
eventually proved to be a bad weld in the stabilator which caused pitch-down.
The F-111 was the best deep-strike fighter in the world. The plane served well
in combat, including its second tour in Vietnamm, the Libyan raid,and Desert
Shield/Storm. A total of 563 were built. Only the Aussies still have them in
operational service, the F-l1lC. They plan to retire them around 2020.
(Bob's comment: I was in the 20th TFW at RAF Upper Heyford during 1975 - 1978.
The 20th was equipped with the F-111E which was the only truly viable
all-weather, nuclear strike aircraft in the NATO inventory throughtout most
of the '70s. The 48th TFW converted from F-4s to F-111Fs around 1979 and those
two wings remained the only NATO strike units with terrain following systems
into the mid '80s. The only way that strike aircraft could avoid the extensive
Warsaw Pact air defense system at that time was by hugging the terrain to stay
below radar. With the lone exception of the F-111, NATO aircraft required
weather that would allow pilots to see and avoid ground obstacles. In bad
weather--typical in Europe-- only the F-111 could hug the ground using its
terrain following avionics. Furthermore, it carried two "nukes", the other
aircraft only one. It was one helluva fine aircraft with excellent capabilities.
The "Aardvark" was greatly admired by the aircrews who flew her in USAFE.)
The F-111 is mach 2+. Zeller has had it to 2.4. The escape pod weighs 4,000
pounds, and must go through 122 separate sequential functions to work. If it
does, and the 'chute deploys, there is a final squib that is supposed to let
you hit keel down. Otherwise, you go in on your nose, and it does hit hard.
The F-111 has a fuel jettison system that vents at the tail. Some pilots
found that a spectacular show could be put on by dumping a bit of fuel then
lighting the afterburner. The torch could be seen for miles! Zeller has more
than a thousand hours in the F-1ll.
****************************************************************************
Bob Arnau
21st SOS, "Knife" (CH-3E)
NKP 1969-70
Riverside, CA
- --
Terry W. Colvin, Sierra Vista, Arizona (USA) < fortean@primenet.com >
Home Page: < http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Shadowlands/8832 >
Sites: Fortean Times * Northwest Mysteries * Mystic's Cyberpage *
TLCB * U.S. Message Text Formatting (USMTF) Program
- ------------
Member: Thailand-Laos-Cambodia Brotherhood (TLCB) Mailing List
TLCB Web Site: < http://www.tlc-brotherhood.org >
Southeast Asia (SEA) service:
Vietnam - Theater Telecommunications Center/HHC, 1st Aviation Brigade
(Jan 71 - Aug 72)
Thailand/Laos
- Telecommunications Center/U.S. Army Support Thailand
(USARSUPTHAI), Camp Samae San (Jan 73 - Aug 73)
- Special Security/Strategic Communications - Thailand
(STRATCOM - Thailand), Phu Mu (Pig Mountain) Signal Site
(Aug 73 - Jan 74)
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 3 May 1999 09:58:23 +0930
From: Craig Norton
Subject: RE: NEW X-34 SPACEPLANE TO BE UNVEILED AT DRYDEN
Can someone confirm that the rollout actually happened, and if so are
their any photo's that NASA has released ??
Craig...
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Martin Hurst [SMTP:martinh@ix.netcom.com]
>Sent: Friday, April 23, 1999 11:49 AM
>To: 'Skunk Works - post to the list'
>Subject: NEW X-34 SPACEPLANE TO BE UNVEILED AT DRYDEN
>
>NASA press releases:
>
> The first of three X-34 demonstration vehicles will be
>"rolled out" at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center,
>Edwards, CA, on Friday, April 30, opening an era of low-cost
>reusable space planes.
>
> The X-34, a single-engine rocket plane, will fly itself
>using onboard computers. The vehicle is approximately 58
>feet long, 28 feet wide at wing tip and 11 feet tall from
>the bottom of the fuselage to the top of the tail. The X-34
>will launch from an L-1011 airliner and will reach altitudes
>of up to 250,000 feet and travel up to eight times faster
>than the speed of sound.
>
> Flights of the X-34 will test many new technologies:
>composite material structures, composite tanks and new,
>integrated avionics. The vehicle also will demonstrate the
>ability to fly through inclement weather, land horizontally
>at a designated landing site, and safely abort during
>flight. The planned 27 flights within a year will
>demonstrate the program's ability to fly within 24 hours of
>its last mission, using a small ground crew.
>
> The X-34 has completed ground vibration tests, ensuring
>there will be no potentially hazardous vibrations during
>flight. The L-1011 and the X-34 prototype were tested
>separately and together at Dryden.
>
> After the rollout, the X-34 will be mounted underneath
>the L-1011 and flown on "captive-carry" flights to allow the
>Federal Aviation Administration to approve modifications to
>the L-1011. When powered flights begin for X-34, the
>demonstrator will be carried aloft and separate from the L-
>1011 before igniting its rocket engine. Following the
>powered portion of flight, the unpiloted X-34 will land
>horizontally, initially on a dry lakebed and eventually on a
>runway.
>
> The April 30 rollout, which is open to the media, will
>air live on NASA Television. A press conference will be held
>at 1 p.m. EDT, and the rollout ceremony will take place at 2
>p.m. EDT. For accreditation and more information, reporters
>should contact Leslie Mathews at Dryden Public Affairs on
>(661) 258-3893.
>
> NASA TV is available on GE-2, transponder 9C at 85
>degrees west longitude, with vertical polarization.
>Frequency is on 3880.0 megahertz, with audio on 6.8
>megahertz.
>
> In a cooperative program among NASA Centers, Dryden
>will provide flight-testing and ground vibration testing.
>NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL, manages
>the X-34 project. Orbital Sciences Corporation Dulles, VA,
>is designing, developing and testing the vehicle.
>
> - end -
>NASA press releases and other information are available automatically
>by sending an Internet electronic mail message to domo@hq.nasa.gov.
>In the body of the message (not the subject line) users should type
>the words "subscribe press-release" (no quotes). The system will
>reply with a confirmation via E-mail of each subscription. A second
>automatic message will include additional information on the service.
>NASA releases also are available via CompuServe using the command
>GO NASA. To unsubscribe from this mailing list, address an E-mail
>message to domo@hq.nasa.gov, leave the subject blank, and type only
>"unsubscribe press-release" (no quotes) in the body of the message.
>
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 03 May 1999 00:42:47 GMT
From: georgek@netwrx1.com (George R. Kasica)
Subject: OT: Need help wth a helicopter question
Hello:
I know this is WAY OT, but...I need some info on the helicopters used
by the Mileaukee Regional Medical Center Flight For Life program. A
1998 news story mentions a KU117 but repeated web searches turn up
zip....its for a patient there who is quite ill and also a big
aircraft buff....my wife happens to be his primary nurse, hence the
weird round about way of the request....I always thought they used
Bell JetRanger or LongRangers but.....
Thanks for any assistance you can provide.
George
George, MR. Tibbs & The Beast Kasica
West Allis, WI USA
georgek@netwrx1.com
gkasica@hotmail.com
gkasica@lycos.com
gkasica@netscape.com
http://www.netwrx1.com
ICQ #12862186
Zz
zZ
|\ z _,,,---,,_
/,`.-'`' _ ;-;;,_
|,4- ) )-,_..;\ ( `'_'
'---''(_/--' `-'\_)
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 02 May 1999 22:59:23 -0500
From: Dave Bethke
Subject: Re: OT: Need help wth a helicopter question
"George R. Kasica" wrote:
> I know this is WAY OT, but...I need some info on the helicopters used
> by the Mileaukee Regional Medical Center Flight For Life program. A
> 1998 news story mentions a KU117 but repeated web searches turn up
> zip....
Could that be a BK 117, made by MESSERSCHMITT-BOLKOW-BLOHM of
Germany? The Milwaukee County Regional Medical Center web page says
that's the model they use.
(http://www.mcw.edu/emr/medical_services.html) It appears to be used by
quite a few medical facilities, including Hermann Life Flight here in
Houston. (And that's where I started my Web search. :-))
- --
Dave Bethke - (ex-Milwaukeean) on the fringe of Houston
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 03 May 1999 10:39:58 GMT
From: georgek@netwrx1.com (George R. Kasica)
Subject: Re: OT: Need help wth a helicopter question
John:
Thank you! I sort of took the bull by the horns here and called the
Flight For Life dispatch center and got connected to the on-duty
pilot, Jim, he was happy to talk to me and I found out they are flying
a BK-117 from Messcherschmidt/Kawasaki and a Bell 222UT to be replaced
soon the another BK-117.
Finding info for the BK-117 was easy, the Bell 222UT was not, took
several hours of web searching bit I did find enough to make the pt.
happy.
Thanks again,
George
===[George R. Kasica]=== +1 414 541 8579
Skunk-Works ListOwner +1 800 520 4873 FAX
http://www.netwrx1.com West Allis, WI USA
georgek@netwrx1.com
gkasica@hotmail.com
gkasica@lycos.com
gkasica@netscape.com
ICQ #12862186
Digest Issues at: http://www.netwrx1.com/skunk-works
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 03 May 1999 10:48:15 GMT
From: georgek@netwrx1.com (George R. Kasica)
Subject: Re: OT: Need help wth a helicopter question
On Sun, 02 May 1999 22:59:23 -0500, you wrotd:
>"George R. Kasica" wrote:
>
>> I know this is WAY OT, but...I need some info on the helicopters used
>> by the Mileaukee Regional Medical Center Flight For Life program. A
>> 1998 news story mentions a KU117 but repeated web searches turn up
>> zip....
>
> Could that be a BK 117, made by MESSERSCHMITT-BOLKOW-BLOHM of
>Germany? The Milwaukee County Regional Medical Center web page says
>that's the model they use.
>(http://www.mcw.edu/emr/medical_services.html) It appears to be used by
>quite a few medical facilities, including Hermann Life Flight here in
>Houston. (And that's where I started my Web search. :-))
Dave:
You're exactly correct...I read the Waukesha Freeman article and they
have a misprint I think KU117, I SAW the above web site and totally
blew it and missed seeing that info...I re-looked now and feel
somewhat stupid...oh well,it was late here.....yeah thats my story and
I'm sticking to it...
Thanks again,
George
George, MR. Tibbs & The Beast Kasica
West Allis, WI USA
georgek@netwrx1.com
gkasica@hotmail.com
gkasica@lycos.com
gkasica@netscape.com
http://www.netwrx1.com
ICQ #12862186
Zz
zZ
|\ z _,,,---,,_
/,`.-'`' _ ;-;;,_
|,4- ) )-,_..;\ ( `'_'
'---''(_/--' `-'\_)
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 8 May 1999 01:17:46 +0000
From: John Szalay
Subject: Borrowed from the AFNEWS
Since the list seems to be slow, heres a press release from the AFNEWS
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
990888. 'Stealth works,' says wing commander
> by Senior Master Sgt. Jim Katzaman
> Air Force Print News
>
> WASHINGTON -- After "a bunch" of sorties which dropped more than 1 million
> pounds of ordnance on Yugoslav targets, the B-2 Spirit wing commander had
> a triumphant message: "Stealth works."
>
> From the first days of NATO's Operation Allied Force, B-2s have taken off
> from Whiteman Air Force Base, near Knob Noster, Mo.; flown almost 15 hours
> to Yugoslavia; dropped precision-guided munitions on fixed ground sites;
> and returned after another 15 hours to Missouri. Often, in the time it takes
> to take on a new load of bombs, aircraft and crews are on their way again.
>
> "The jet's performance really has exceeded all of our expectations," said
> Brig. Gen. Leroy Barnidge Jr., 509th Bomb Wing commander, who spoke May 5
> to the Pentagon press corps.
>
> He called the B-2, "a combination of stealth, long range, large payload
> and precise munitions. It's not only a world-class, long-range bomber, but
> also a pretty valuable asset to have in the skies over Serbia today."
>
> Asked if the B-2 program was worth its $40 billion estimated cost, the
> general said, "it's worth three times that amount. This jet works, and it
> keeps our guys alive. It keeps Americans alive."
>
> He then described a typical sortie with two pilots on each bomber carrying
> up to 16 2,000-pound bombs converted into joint direct-attack munitions.
> With JDAM modifications, unguided free-fall bombs become precision-guided
> "smart" munitions. Already, B-2s have dropped more than 500 JDAMs on
> Yugoslav targets, according to Barnidge.
>
> "The B-2s go out there and carry 16 very precise munitions," he said.
> Although the smaller F-117A stealth bomber is "a wonderful machine," he
> said, "it can only carry two 2000-pound laser-guided bombs.
>
> "A B-2 is equivalent to eight F-117s. We can take this thing thousands of
> miles; we can go into very lethal environments, and we can put the bombs
> exactly where we want them. Then we bring the guys home, turn the jets
> and do it again. That's not a bad return on your investment."
>
> "The marvel of this operation has been that we seamlessly integrate with
> an entire NATO strike package even though we launch 13 to 14 hours before
> everybody else does," Barnidge said. "We seamlessly integrate with them
> because of the planning process. I could not ask for a better, more
> integrated planning process and user-friendly operation."
>
> The B-2 and JDAM combination, the general added, has also reaped dividends
> where battlefield commanders demand it most: on the ground.
>
> "I've seen zero collateral damage from our strikes," Barnidge said, "and
> that's a pretty good record."
>
> Neither bomber nor bombs would work as well as they do today, the wing
> commander said, without "the folks who work in and around the B-2. They
> are the heroes of B-2 operations. They're clearly the best team I've ever
> had."
>
> Although the bat-winged B-2 might be the star of the show, the general
> noted, "We are a small part of a pretty big team out there comprised not
> only of our American air power team, but also the NATO alliance.
>
> "Our view from Whiteman and central Missouri is that we're just real glad
> that we can make a valuable contribution to this team, and we plan to
> continue to do just that," he said.
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 07 May 1999 23:31:15 -0400
From: Don Hackett
Subject: Re: skunk-works-digest V8 #57
Where are you?
Haven't received anything in 11 days.
------------------------------
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Date: Sat, 8 May 1999 07:20:56 -0400
From: "Frank Markus"
Subject: RE: skunk-works-digest V8 #57
What are you expecting from me?
- -----Original Message-----
From: owner-skunk-works@netwrx1.com [mailto:owner-skunk-works@netwrx1.com]
On Behalf Of Don Hackett
Sent: Friday, May 07, 1999 11:31 PM
To: skunk-works@netwrx1.com
Subject: Re: skunk-works-digest V8 #57
Where are you?
Haven't received anything in 11 days.
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 08 May 1999 20:26:51 +0200
From: Frits Westra
Subject: NEWS: Better chance for crippled aircraft
URL: http://www.newscientist.com/ns/19990424/newsstory2.html
News
Crash course
Duncan Graham-Rowe
CRIPPLED COMBAT AIRCRAFT should soon stand a better chance of making
it back to base, thanks to a novel neural network that has just passed
its first major test.
When the control surfaces of an aeroplane, such as the rudder or
ailerons, are damaged or malfunctioning there is often very little a
pilot can do to avert a disaster. But in a series of tests that
finished last week, NASA engineers have shown that smart software can
keep aircraft flying even if some of their control surfaces are
disabled.
The tests, at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center in Edwards,
California, used a modified F-15 aircraft similar to those flying
combat missions against Serbia. The software was tested in high
performance manoeuvres, such as tracking a target or performing a 360
degree roll. The neural net managed to keep disabled planes under
control even at supersonic speeds. This is the first time such a
system has helped control a piloted aircraft.
The software was developed at NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett
Field, California. It is designed to kick in when the flight control
system detects a mismatch between data on the plane's airspeed,
bearing and the forces on its wings, tail and fuselage, and a computer
model showing what data should be received if the plane were flying
normally.
Neural networks are programs that learn to perform a certain task by
trial and error, rather like the human brain. The Ames team trained
theirs to control an F-15 on a flight simulator, before letting it
loose on the real thing. In an emergency, the network reassesses
flight data six times every second to work out the best way of using
the available control surfaces and the plane's engines to maintain
normal flight.
The pilot would be warned of any failures, such as the loss of his
ailerons. But in most cases, he shouldn't notice that the plane is
handling differently from normal. "The computer would determine that
the ailerons aren't available and would have another scheme in mind,"
says Mike Thomson, the engineer at Dryden who supervised the tests.
"It would learn to use another control surface instead."
Thomson believes commercial airliners could also benefit from the
system, although it would be restricted to modern fly-by-wire planes.
When an airliner loses its control surfaces, the results can be
horrific: at Sioux City, Iowa, in 1989, a full hydraulic failure left
an aircrew trying to land a DC-10 using only the throttles of its two
remaining engines. It crash-landed, killing 110 passengers.
However, civil authorities may be less willing than the military to
embrace the system. They will demand standardised tests of the
system's performance, says Tom Anderson, an expert on software
reliability at Newcastle University. But such tests will be hard to
devise, as the performance of neural networks is inherently difficult
to predict.
From New Scientist, 24 April 1999
------------------------------
End of skunk-works-digest V8 #58
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